Bonds of sisterhood in life, literature and my book
This one’s for sisters.
Whether through family or a BFF or an instant connection from a chance encounter. Former work friends and Sunday chums and wacky women in my neighborhood. Three childhood friends I’ll be FaceTiming with tonight. A girl group of daily Early Bird writers. Girlfriends I travel and Zoom with every month. Sister authors met through my publisher. Women historical fiction writers I’ve laughed and learned with in the Women’s Fiction Writers Association.
Exceptional female deep thinkers I turn to here on Substack.
And yes, my very own little sister. :)
I’m grateful for these kickass amazing circles of awesome women.
Not a surprise then that sister-like support is featured prominently in my book, Saving Vincent, A Novel of Jo van Gogh. Based on a true story, when Jo van Gogh takes on the art elite to champion her brother-in-law Vincent van Gogh’s controversial art, she’s slapped down by the male status quo.
Naturally, sisters come to the rescue.
Both for Jo and Author Me because the female characters (all real people) drive plot points and pace in my book through Show Don’t Tell.
The characters demonstrate (Show) a point versus preaching (Telling) to the reader.
Let me show you with a little help from other authors’ “sister” quotes.
Examples of Sister Shine
“What are sisters for if not to point out the things the rest of the world is too polite to mention.” ― Claire Cook, Must Love Dogs: New Leash on Life
Jo’s BFF is Anna Veth who reflects the world’s expectations for a young widow back to Jo with kindness but also a warning. For instance, since Jo is a young widow, Anna worries isn’t she supposed to be getting married again and having more babies? And Anna’s husband (the art critic Jan Veth) thinks Jo’s being “overzealous” by poking around in the man’s world of art dealing. He pressures Anna to corral her friend.
Anna reflects pressures from patriarchy. A good BFF has your back while seeing the world clearly…and worries.
“She wouldn't climb out of the bed for her sister, but she had climbed into a crater. She wouldn't cross a room, but she had crossed a continent.” ―Anthony Marra, A Constellation of Vital Phenomena
First up, I love the images of “crater” and “continent” in that quote. For it’s the big stuff, not the trivial, when sisterhood is fierce. I dip into this in a scene between Jo and her sister-in-law Wil van Gogh whose deep dependence on her big brothers, Vincent and Theo, makes her the one person who totally gets Jo’s vulnerability and loneliness. As big brothers, they’d looked out for her, sent money, and wrote her regularly. Jo faces not only Theo’s loss, but the chasm of not ever knowing Vincent well—yet wanting to do right by the gigantic art trove he left behind.
Wil invites Jo and readers into insights about Vincent beyond his madness. This is critical to the story, yet a challenge. Vincent is central to the book, but already dead. Wil gives Jo (and us) an opening to understand him better. That’s what sisters do: There for each other, especially when times get rough.
“Big sisters are the crab grass in the lawn of life.” ― Charles M. Schulz
(I’m picturing my own younger sister nodding right now: “You got that quote right!”)
So, of course, I had to put a crabby know-it-all smart-as-a-whip woman in the book. She’s Madame Tanguy, wife of Père Tanguy who was a paint merchant and buddy to Vincent. You may be familiar with the portrait Vincent painted of him. While Père was a good ol’ guy, Madame Tanguy is the brains behind the scenes, and I give her (and me!) the fun of turning the tables on some male arrogance.
Madame Tanguy plays a dual purpose: She’s a savvy business woman in a man’s domain, yet because she’s lower class, it’s acceptable for her, though not for Jo. Feels like a double-standard right? We women don’t know anything about that.
“But what if the monsters come?""Fancy." Kit looked away from the drama to stare at her sister, surprised. "We are the monsters.” ― Dia Reeves, Slice of Cherry.
Oh, yes. We’re the threat when we cross the line to take a job or earn a degree or play a sport or you-name-it that doesn’t fall into a neat traditional gender lane. Here’s the thing: many of us just have our head down, doing the work and don’t realize that others notice.
For Jo, it’s suffragette Marie Mensing who points out to her that she’s a role model as a “New Woman.” For even though art fans increasingly stopped at Jo’s boarding house to see her collection of Van Gogh, Gauguin, Renoir, Lautrec and other artists hanging on the walls, Jo didn’t realize how word of her art dealing had also spread within the burgeoning feminist community. She was a living example of the New Woman idea. It took Marie pointing this out for Jo to see her own authority.
Sisters tell sisters they’re amazing.
Happy Galentine’s Day
At the end of this week is Galentine’s Day, a perfectly wonderful extra holiday giving us a marvelous reason to hang out with sisters and sister-like friends (We never really need a reason, but now Hallmark’s made it a rule.)
I’m grabbing lunch with a BFF and we’ll be raising a glass to missing members of our gallivanting book club group. Tell me about an important sister in your life in the comments—we’ll raise a glass to her as well.
And to you.
You’re amazing,
Comments